


Gamer Ruby!

by Red_Like_Roses



Category: RWBY
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-08
Updated: 2018-03-31
Packaged: 2018-12-12 14:51:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,427
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11739327
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Red_Like_Roses/pseuds/Red_Like_Roses
Summary: Games can attribute to more than just entertainment.





	1. Chapter 1

“She’s very talented… I didn’t even do much teaching. I just kinda showed her it once and off she went…” He popped the top off his flask and took a swig.   
“Must be those video games. Y’know, they say that they improve your reflexes and problem solving… And Summer thought it would be bad to let her play them too much.” Taiyang smiled sadly.

“What do you mean you can’t make it! Dude it’s the championship. We worked so hard for this, you can’t just- just quit!” Sun’s tail twirled and uncurled agitatedly. They had grinded and strived so hard for this chance! There’s no way he was about to just let it drop! Not only was it a gaming event, but it was sponsored by the Schnee Dust Corporation. The Schnee’s who are less than reputable in their business dealings and faunus labor policies, were hosting an event that he firmly believed they could win. The thought of that bastard’s face when he watches a faunus win his game tournament. Oh man! A smile split his features until he realized that it probably wasn’t going to happen.  
“Listen man, I’m sorry, but my mom’s sick and I gotta look after her. Family comes first. Sorry bro, but hey don’t sweat it, I got someone to fill my place.” Neptune seemed pretty confident in his replacement.  
All Sun could do is sigh, “Alright… who’d you get?” He could practically hear the smile and smugness through the phone.  
“You know the streamer rlyrlykewlkid17?” The monkey’s eyes widened.  
“No… you didn’t!” He was bouncing in place, unable to control his excitement.  
“Oh but I did!”  
“Bro! Ah man… You’re the best man, I’m sorry for doubting you.”  
“I know. It’s good. Listen, I gotta go take care of my mom now. Talk to you later, alright. Kick ass! Oh, you’ll be looking for a red cloak.”  
“Wait. What? Why!” But it was too late. “Aw man.” He clicked the scroll shut and turned to Scarlet and Sage. “Welp, Neptune bailed.” Scarlet opened his mouth to voice his concern on the matter, but Sun continued on,”buuuut he got us a replacement.”  
The pirate dramatically groaned as he looked at the ceiling before placing a hand on his hip and shifting his weight to the corresponding leg. “Well, who is it?” He flipped his hair out of his face.  
“You’ll find out, just look for a red cloak.” Was all the leader said before he began searching the crowd. Scarlet looked to Sage for any advice, but was only met with silent resolution.  
Meanwhile, their leader was jumping above the crowd in hopes of getting a glimpse of his replacement for Neptune. The crowd was too much. This event was huge. Any non-private event that the Schnee company hosted was. They certainly knew how to entertain their guests.  
For a moment, the monkey faunus caught a glimpse of peculiar blonde hair and lavender eyes that met with his. A gauntleted arm shrugged against something and the other pointed at him. Her and presumably her companion started making their way toward him.  
Now Sun… Sun has a less than reputable public image, and someone he doesn’t know, armed, picking him out and coming towards him has never been a good thing. He gulped when he landed and slinked back to his teammates. “So uh… we might have trouble.”  
Scarlet scoffed, “Of course, when isn’t there with you.” It wasn’t a question.  
“Yeah, well shut up. Ok, this-”  
“Hey, Monkey boy!” The three S’s of SSSN turned to face the voice. Sun clenched his teeth and stood straight from his slinking. Shut his eyes tight and whispered a short plea before relaxing and turning to face this stranger.  
“Look, I know I left the banana peel on the sidewalk because I missed my throw and was too ashamed to pick it up, but I did eventually go back and properly take care of it ok? So if-”  
“You one of the teams?” Her lavender eyes squinted in her analysis of the other two members.   
“Yeeeaaahhh…” He looked back to his friends for encouragement, but there was none offered.  
The intruder turned around and talked down to someone, “Hey Rubes, I think this is them.” The three curious onlookers watched as a red-hooded figure tentatively stepped out from behind her protector.  
Sun felt his excitement take over his fear and he began getting jittery. He quickly looked back and forth between the newcomers and his teammates as though saying, “You seein’ this! You seein’ this!?”  
It was Scarlet who broke the scene. “Uh… who’s this?” He took his signature pose, hand on hip, weight shifted to same leg. He seemed less than impressed. “He’s just a kid.”  
“Dude! Do you not know who this is! It’s that streamer I showed you. The one that doesn’t talk or show his face but kicks but and types funny, witty shit on his streams!” His friend’s face didn’t seem to register the memory. “Whatever man, he’s our replacement for Neptune, and don’t tell Neptune, but probably a better asset than him too.”  
Sun turned back to his newly acquired teammate, “Welcome aboard! Glad to have ya. I’m Sun, the leader of this scraggly gang, that’s Scarlet… he’s uh… and that’s Sage, he’s quiet.”  
“Hey-” but the pirate’s protests were cut off by the red-hood.  
Facing them properly, Ruby looked at them each individually in the eyes before speaking, “I’m Ru- rlyrlykewlkid17. Pleasure to meet you.” At the sound of her voice, Sun and Scarlet made an… oh shit eye contact.  
“Listen, uh… We meant nothing by uh… thinking you were a guy or anything. We just kinda assumed because y’know uhm…. Girls aren’t really big into the gaming scene, which isn’t a problem of course! I think it’s actually really cool that you’re into it and I’ll just shut up now.” The once bouncing monkey fiddled with his hands awkwardly.  
“It’s ok, I know. No harm done.” The offenders breathed a sigh of relief.  
“Then uh… let’s go get our spots, kick some a- butt, and win this thing!”  
“Crush them sis!” Yang waved energetically at her little sister, who in turn turned back and shot a little smile and a wave.

“I thought your fourth member was uh…” The man flipped through some papers, “Neptune Vasilias. Who’s this?” Everything Schnee-related is stiff and no-nonsense. Which is partially why Sun was so adamant on winning this thing.   
“This is-” Ruby held up a hand to cut off whatever explanation Sun was about to blunder out. She leaned in close so only the man could hear.   
Through her whispered conversation, the man’s lower lip pressed up against his upper one making an odd pucker but understandable expression as he nodded; snorted a bit with a smile, and when she was done, he had a lopsided grin.  
When she first leaned in, Sun looked to Scarlet and Sage with a questioning expression, they both just shrugged and observed. Upon pulling away, and the man granting them passage, Sun decided, “Whatever, if it works, it works.” 

“-And this ragtag team of what seem to be delinquents secure another victory! What an upset! Wow! Alright, we’ll be back after a 15 minute intermission.”  
Now, Sun was the leader. As such he should make the calls, the plays, the picks, and the decisions. Should. However, it wasn’t long within their first match that all three of them, Sun, Scarlet, and Sage, began gradually responding to and following their fourth member’s calls. Sun became just the front of the operation while Ruby was the leader. It just felt natural to all of them, and it was working! And, “If it works, it works.” In other words, if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.


	2. Chapter 2

It was an intense scene. Both teams were being lead expertly and were performing admirably. Plays and counter plays, predictions and deceptions, neither team could get a firm hold over the other. Until… until they messed up. It happened in just an instant. A heartbeat of an opening presented itself and she seized it! No one else saw the miniscule chink in the armor that existed for only a blink. She rushed in and disrupted their formation, commanding her teammates to collapse with her and finish the game. The audience was cheering, the shout casters were ecstatic. Their play-by-play filled with legitimate excitement. In short, it was a very exciting battle.

“-And they have taken the title of victors! Nobody could have guessed that this team sprung out of nowhere could compete with such finesse! Let’s meet our champions!” The announcer doubling as a hype man made his way to the stage where the competing teams just finished shaking hands. He clasped Sun on the shoulders and asked, “Are you the leader son?”

And for a moment, just for a moment, he thought he wasn’t. It was a light kick to the leg that brought about his senses. He turned to the source, he felt guilty for what he was about to say. He knows he isn’t the one that lead his team to victory, but if she’s the one encouraging then… “I am! Sun Wukong! A  **faunus** !”

There wasn’t as much murmuring of confliction that he imagined there would be. He started feeling nervous.  _ Was it really such a big ordeal that a faunus won a Schnee gaming tournament?  _ The longer he thought about it, the more he realized that it was rather trivial; the event was more of an afterthought, really. Sure it was hosted by the prestigious Schnee corporation, but it was more for fun than competition. Still, that didn't stop some big names coming out and trying to win.

    In actuality, the tense air wasn't all that thick, and the time passed was simply a moment or two, but to someone in the spotlight, it felt so much longer.

    “Well there you have! Our leader and victor, Sun Wukong!” Naturally, the crowd cheered. The hype man and energy were so contagious, the announcer could have said anything and the crowd would erupt into cheers. “Now, it you'll step over here,” He gently pulled Sun to a podium, “Here we go, and a member of the Schnee family will gladly present you with your prize!”

    It was a small victory, but to him it felt monumental. To have the upper class who practically enslave his kind, come and serve him because of his accomplishments, oh it felt good to get back at them! As the oppressed kind, there's not much his kind can legally do to cause upsets as large as this, but whenever one comes about, a faunus is sure to take the chance at it.

    Winter was away on a mission, Jaque is too proud to stoop so low as to do anything for anybody except for himself, and the mother was out of the picture. That left Weiss and Whitley. Weiss thought the whole thing a bore and a waste of, well everything. Whitley wasn't exactly one to represent the Schee household as he is the youngest and is yet to be… refined.

    With a resigned sigh, Weiss stood up from her cushioned chair, grabbed the faux gold trophy filled with lien, and tried her best to not look annoyed as she presented the trophy to Sun. Taking it with great enthusiasm, Sun raised it and cheered with the audience. 

_ “One more victory,”  _ Sun grinned maliciously. He quickly looked over his shoulder and flicked his tail so as to trip the retreating Schnee. 

    Her foot got caught up and she had no time to stumble and right herself, she was going to fall. Hard. In front of all these people.

    She had just begun to tilt forward when a breeze speckled with rose petals brushed across the stage. No one was sure what had happened except for a certain, quiet guest in a red hood.

    Ruby, her reflexes and reactions being accustomed to sudden changes in the environment, had seen Sun’s intent, realized his actions, and reacted to the situation, all immediately as it occurred. When Weiss had barely entered the stages of tripping, Ruby used her semblance to rush in and give the Schnee just a little push to have her weight shift back into place and keep her from falling. Then, she rushed back and resumed the position she was in just before saving the heiress of the embarrassing moment.

    Moving faster than anyone's eyes could comprehend, and catching the trip-up nearly even before it happened, it simply looked liked Weiss just took a very slightly emphasized step. Out of everyone there, it's likely that only one person knew what happened and one person could guess at it. Nobody else was any wiser to the simple prank the monkey faunus had tried to pull as one last jeer to the Schnees.

    Weiss had automatically continued her walking, still being a bit shook up from what had just happened to her. One instant, she was falling, the next she was fine. As she walked past the winning team members, her mind made a random connection.  _ Red rose petals, red cloak. _ But that was as far as the thought went because something more dramatic took her focus away.  _ Why the red cloak? _ Instinctively, she tried to see who was under the hood, but couldn't make out any distinctive features. Her legs were still walking though, so she continued onward back to her seat trying to brush the thoughts away. 

    The convention continued for another few hours, but Yang took Ruby home immediately after the competition discreetly. Much to Sun's dismay because he wanted to give the trophy to the rightful owner but she disappeared before he had even turned back around from the crowd. 

 

    “Did you see that Weiss Schnee is having a concert at Vale?”

    “Seriously?! That's insane! I love her music. It's so emotional and beautiful.”

    “I know!”

    Ruby listened to her friends, she didn't see the big idea of concerts. Sure, meeting the person might be cool, but to her, that wasn't such a big deal. To her it's another person on Remnant with talent. Woopie. There's also the money, nachos for 12 lien! That'd absurd. Pay like… 45 for the ticket, 30 in transport IF it's nearby, can't bring food or drink inside, large sweaty crowd, and on top of all that, the music quality isn't as great as what you can find on the Internet. On the Internet, there are people whose careers are based off of making an artist's music sound perfect. She preferred to listen to the digitally mastered version in the privacy and security of her own home. Still…

    “You're working that one, right Ruby? On the eighth?”

    “Mm-hmm.” She took a sip of her drink. 

    “Why do you work these again?” the other friend asked for conversation sake.

    They were her friends, she doesn't mind being vulnerable with them. “Since it's just dad, I don't want to put a burden on him for my gaming stuff. Working these concerts, I make below minimum wage, but it's easy and mom always said to volunteer so…”

    It grew somber at the mention of Summer’s involvement. After a moment if silent, but not necessary apology, “So uh, why do you work again?”

    “Dad can't make dinner all the time and insists that Yang and I don't because it's his ‘parental responsibility and a way to show us his love’ but it's hard for him. Yang eats at school for free. Signal doesn't have that program yet, so I volunteer at these events in exchange for food. It helps with not wasting good food and is easy. Lots of food for easy work! I would use the money I get from streaming to buy food, but all that goes to my gaming setup.”

    The scythe-wielder’s scroll buzzed and their laughter faded to smiles. “I've gotta go. Thanks for taking me out!” She reached back for her wallet.

    “Oh, no you don't! Nu-uh. We said we'd treat you and we are! You are not paying a dime girl!” 

    “At least let me-”

    “Nope!” the scroll buzzed again. “Get going girl! You'll be late!” Ruby danced in her boots for a second before leaning in and giving them each a grateful hug. 

    “Thank you! I love you guys… oh! If you come to the booth I'm working, I can hook you up with some things, ok!” she offered a smile before running out the door.

 

    “Hey, sis! Sorry about the last second text. I thought I would be able to, but the study session doesn't have any other time. Dad's working late, and I can't take it to him. Will you take him this? His dinner, I snagged some extra food at the cafeteria today. He'll have to heat it up a bit, but yeah. Here you go. Love ya sis! I gotta get to the class.” Yang kissed her baby sister's head and have her a tight, brief squeeze before jogging into the academy.

 

_ Dad's work is downtown, sooo… bus 25 which will be here… in 10 minutes. _ With paper sack in hand, she began her stroll to the appropriate bus stop. She has plenty of time, in fact, she can see the station from where she is. A two minute walk tops. Two minute walk, eight minute wait, thirty minute drive, two minute departure, nine minute walk to his office, four minute chat, nine minute walk out, and a twenty-two minute wait for the next bus. Just a bit over an hour in total. Then there's the drive back and by then it will be-

     She stopped at the sound of breaking. The bus had pulled up while she was going through her calculations. Boarding, she dropped the thirty cent lien travel fee and took a seat at the front most, available seat.

    By then it will be too late to play any amount of time worthwhile. Pulling out her scroll and opening her social media app she uses to make announcements under her screen name, she let all her followers know vaguely about the circumstances and mostly that she won't be streaming tonight.

    A few immediate reactions spawned; understanding statements and encouragement in the comments section. 

    A small smile tipped her lips as she read those comments before shutting her scroll up and putting it back in her pocket.

    With a slight sigh, she got comfortable in her seat as the bus took off.

 

    She really needed to get to bed. The eighth is tomorrow. Seven hours on her feet without any rest.

    Flopping down on her bed, she stared at the darkness for a moment, her mind just idle. With a deep breath, she rolled over and pulled her covers up.

    It felt like she had just pulled the covers over herself when the alarm made its horrendous sound. The sound all dread. If it were a character in one of her games, no doubt she would go out of her way to kill it again, and again, and again.

    Rolling over and sleepily hitting the off button, she filled her lungs with some morning air and sat up. Rubbing away sleep and standing up, she went about getting ready. She has to be at the plaza in two hours. Thirty minutes to get ready, twenty minutes to-

    Clearing her head, she cleared her anxiety with a fresh breath and clean shirt. 

She has this… problem. Ever since her mom died, she sees time so particularly. As though she regrets not spending more of it with Summer. Now, it's not like she was distant or anything. They were probably closer than most mother and daughter relationships, but it's as though… it's like… she wishes she had spent more time with her mother to fill all this time she has without her. She knows it's impossible but she can't help it and she just-

    Toothpaste was all over the sink, she had clenched her fists so tightly that it just splattered all over the porcelain bowl. Closing her eyes and taking a steady breath, she swiped some up on her toothbrush and scrubbed her teeth while cleaning the mess. Maybe she should just go back to bed, things seem like they're going to be messy today.

 


	3. Update

I've lost all motivation on all my current stories. I'm not even sure if I'm going to keep writing. If I do continue, it'll be new stories and maybe one or two of the current ones. Thank you for supporting me!


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